Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-10-26

THE DEVILS BACKBONE.

Old Ben Derrick 5 cabin lay al the foo
| 0f W lid Cat mountain. 1t was an hou
or two before sunset. and a woman wa
/ climbing the bald mountain side.
| hen Mrs. Derrick caught the CLEAN
OF white face aud red shawl against tn,
background Of gray powders. she said
standing before her doorway: Thar
| that hotel boarder"
Thereupon IA dark. athletic formed, wei
dressed man. followed by bnorish girl
/ stepped from the door into the ward
Don't tell me that woman Is half dead
with consumption. continued Mrs. Der.
| rick. following the figure on the dark hill
with her eyes. WhY. she can out trapSe
that fool EngliShman down at Cordoban
Ranch And wha. is Il all fur Stands
to reason that the Englishman may 20
after deer, turkeys and ducks, but she is
ciimbin' rocks and wearin' out shoe leather
jess 10 cape at nothin'."
The dark faced man had prt up a field
glass. and through il had kept his eyes
steadily fixed on the woman with the red
shawl.
The girl, Molly Derrick, was gazing.
too, with something like animation in her
stupid face, till, set upon by her shrewish
mother, she was forced To leave off and
bring fagots 10 cook the supper.
When Molly had finished pilinC I'D
sticks and cedar chips. she fingered about
the dark faced man. and presently asked
What do she pear TO be doin' now,
joe"
sitting on a rock by the cross. with a
handkerchief to her month"; answered
Joe, in English, which had a marked
Spanish accent.
"llumph. l know what that means
'Whais' said Joe, still not turning from
the spyglasS
''Spittin' up blood" said Molly, land
iookin' off thar at the Devils Backbo :"
Dim night settled on the hills: Mrs.
Derrick's camp fire reflected broad.
warm glory. The cabin lay in the pre-
cincts Of it. as did the clumps of cedars
that were now exhaling odorous balms on
the night air; presently the woman with
the red shawl Clided into the circle of ra-
dance. sShe had come down from the
mountain height with limbs chill and lag
ginG. Not waiting for an invitation. she
moved wearily toward the fire. Mrs.
Derrick roughly showed at the intruder u
t4AaS IVA Aoi - seftt. tltii "SlsI tu
ing above a frying pan and scoldiug
Molly. The latter. leaving off all culin-
a-y cooperation, was fixed with her stra-
bismic gaze now on the strangers rich
petticoats torn by chaparral and dragged
with dew, and now on the wearer's white
face, moody and saturnine.
The bright shawl fell from the woman's
shoulder; STOPPING carelessly forward.
.Iarl .. l.r Il, 4.
thin fingers clasped, and gaunt. naughty
yonng eyes gi"werinS hither and thither.
Presently those restless eyes fell on Indian
joe squattinG on the grass against
cedar, and he trembled So violently before
that boldly searching. insolently beautiful
gaze, he needed 10 put down the tin cup
frcm his hand lest he should have split
he pint Of hot coffee on a Derrick brat
that sprawled at his feet
Mrs. Derrick disapproved no little of
this fine stranger, and. half an hour later,
when the guest, refreshed by Derrick's
venson and goats milk had walked away
into the bushes and darkness, nonchalantly
Is she came. Mrs. Derrick fell 10 abusing
her with malice worthy the ingenuity of
Il more civilized sister. ''Calls herself
Miss Lucia World, How's anybody TO
k2ow If that is her shore-nuff name"
For her part, Mrs. Derrick believed darkiy
in an alias connected with the case
After Mrs. Derrick had retired in her
cabin for the night she heard a voice, that
she recognized as Bobby Winters. talk
ing in an rInmistaka5le tone of excite
:ncnt, with Indian Joe outside by the
camp fire.
Sensations were rare in these bucolic
regions. Rumors came. indeed. often of
robbery and murder. corpses and teams
tumb!ed into the Corces from tho sleepy
cliffs Of the DEVILS Backbonc-but that
IVES comparatively far of. This was bet
was nearcr-so Mrs. Derrick
hoped. She caught fragment Of Bobby's
story:
Pa can't 20 nothin': jess chaws to-
oacco AMI spits hard rs he can. fur ell
Inc world lac he did when Billy got snake
bit. She said you could do something.
Ma amt got time
No" thought Mrs. Derrick. in a men
al aside, If all creation was afire yer ma
would go on washing dishes and Settin'
ready for shoppers" But the voices were
gone. Mrs. Derrick hurriedly awakened
I'D Derrick, who, being already cndued
with all the clothes he possessed, had only
10 rub his eyes and rush out after the van
shing Bobby and Indian Joe Mrs. Der
rick would fain have followed, had not her
lord left behind him an oath and admoni-
lion effective in deterring her.
Who = shes" Mrs. Derrick wondering
u asked herself BET it's that Lucia
World. &Iow did she know what Joe
,ould do, and never sot eyes on him till
.o-nights'
When Indian Joe crossed the threshold
# Winters he was again seized with a
violent tremor. On the long hoard coun-
er Of the store, o: barrooaI. within. lay
hc CORY figure of "A Young man. Dews of
lay on the face, beautiful rs
Byron's. and beside it sat Lucia World.
Indian Joe put aside his weakness quickly
Is it had sprung, walked forward. found
hat there was a broken arm to be set.
threaded needle and proceeded TO sew
up ghastly cut which Lucia World was
about the strangers head.
In the kitchen Ms. Winter was saying:
'Cordoban's Ranch amt so far of; why
Ion't he send there for his wife to come
luss him, As for that Uoarder. flyin'
,ut at us all bout doin' nothing for the
if she wants it done. lei her
% her. l amt no Use fur the man no
ways. Eettin' throwed of his hoss right at
The door std of going on furder down the
.reek; aud he thinks this country made
Just a purpose for him to hunt in"
III.
A woman was weary of waiting on the
mountain top. She yawned, and idly
her name on the stone cross, set
there by plucky Jesuit fathers in the early
time: then, once more with a field glass
she swept the lowering horizon and all
the valley. There was a black cloud i'm
The west, there was charcoal wagon
with its teams of oxen creeping along the
lar Off ridge; but there was nought she
looked for, moving or stationary, in the
open clearing at the base of the DEVILS
Backbone.
According to prearranrement, Moll,
Derrick had brought the field glass. Now